Circular-knitting machine



g i 163L816 Junc 7, 1927. H. E HOUSEMAN v r CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W/f/VESS." flaro/a/ E. fi auseman av W M Arrbmmzvs.

June 7, 1927.

H. E. HQUSEMAN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 r 2.2,: 55 a V M I M/VE/VI'OI? Ha ro/QE. fiuscman 4770 ?A/EYS.

. 1 1,631,816 J1me 1927' 1-1. E. HOUSE'MAN CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE Filed Dec-, 5. 1924 -3 Sheets-Sheet WNW/553 fl f/auseman s n r cw Patented June a i only the thread stares HARQLD E. HOUSEMAN, OE

EQRA'EEON 0:3 DELAWARE.

WILMING'EGN, DELAWARE,

ASSIGNGR' T0 STANDARD- OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE A COE- CIEGULAR-KBFITTING MACHINE.

Application filed December 3, 1924. Serial No. 558,52.

in circular knitting machines adapted for the manufacture of hosiery. means have been devised to produce longitudinal stripe effects along both the front and rear of the stocking and along the top of the foot, while eliminating such effects from the heel, toe and bottom of the foot. @ne known means of producing a stripe is to knit the stocking of two threads, one of which is known as a body yarn and the other oi. which is known as a plating yarn. These threads are differently positioned, but those (regular needles that are not to produce the striping eliect are drawn down at such a point in the rotation of the needle cylinder that the needles will engage both threads and knit them in together. Those (special) needles that are to produce the striping effeet are drawn downv in advance of the point at which the regular needles are drawn down ..and are drawn down at such a point that they will engage one of the threadsv but not the other. The thread that is not engaged will therefore float across the fabric that is engaged by the special needle will loops.

The special needles alcove mentioned are usually equipped with extra butts, or jacks are secured thereto. involves a lengthening oi the needles consequent lengthen ing of the needle cylinder, and the provision oi special cams for operating the extra hulls or jacks and special mechanism for op crating these came. his involves not only additional expense also a substantial addition to the needleoperating mechanism. it also well known that machines so equipped for producing such striping effects must he operated at a reduced speed, thereby reducing production.

The oh Ze-cts of my 'nvention are to produce essentially the same fabric loy means of simplified striping needles that can be manufactured at no higher cost than the regular needles. to avoid the necessity of elongating the needle cylinder, to avoid the provision of any additional needle actuating cams and also any additional cam actuating mechanism (although a change in the construction of one of those cams and its actuating mechanism is contemplated) and to make possible the safe operation of the machine at the same speed as it is possible to safely operate a machine equipped to knit a plain fabric,

The invention has other advantages and possibilities, which will be mentioned hereinafter.

A. preferred embodiment of invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is an elevation showing a number of the needles, the needle actuating cams and the yarn fingers.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the needle cylinder, the stitch cam and the mechanism for operating the latter.

Figs. 3 and 4c are fragmentary vertical sections showing the stitch cam in the position it occupies during the knitting ot' the foot; Fig. 3 showing a special or striping needle ofithe rear bank and Fig. 4 a regular needle of the rear bank.

Fig. 5 is a diagram of the needle cylinder illustrating a typical distribution of the. regular and special needles oi both banks.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a stocking, cross-sections through difi erent parts of the stocking, and the relative positions of the four difierent kinds of needles and the stitch cam during the knitting of each part.

Fig. 7 is a diagram, enlarged, of a small section of striped fabric.

Fig. 8 is a developed view .oi the pattern cam for controlling the position of the stitch cam.

Fig. 9 is an elevation of a modified arrangement oi cams.

Vertically slidable in the rotatable needle cylinder at are the needles (hereinafter par ticularly described). in Fig. 1, one of the yarn carriers 6 is shown projected into the throat of the latch ring a, in position to enable yarn fed therefrom to he engaged by the needles. In the same figure is shown a group of cams, which are constructed and arranged in the usual way except that the construction of the stitch cam a? has heen modified, as hereinafter described. The stitch cam al is operable by known mechanism: namely, a slide e movable radially inward by means of a spring f and movable radically outward by means of a bell crank lever g; the latter being swingable by means of a vertically movable post h, which is ac- .tuatable by a cam on a pattern disc 5. I Substantially this same mechanism for operating the stitch canh is shown in ents: for example, the H. A. Houseman Patent No. 1,207,757, dated December 12, 1916, except thatin the present machine there is provided a special cam (shown developed in Fig. 8) on the pattern disc and hereinafter described.

Before describing the novel elements of my invention, I will first more particularly describe the customary means for. forming longitudinal stripes referred to in. general language in the introductory part of this specification. From-the yarn'carrier b are fed two yarns, one a body yarn 10 and the other a plating yarn 11 (see Fig. 1). The regular "needles and the special (striping) needles approach these yarns at the same height, but the special. needles start to move down at a point in advance of the point at which the regular needles start to move down. The positions of the two yarns l0 and 11 are such that the hooks of the regular needles, in their downward movement, successively engage both yarns 10 and 11, while the hooks of the special needles, after engaging one of the yarns, say the body yarn 10, start to move down so far in advance of the point at which the regular needles start to move down that the special needles do not engage the plating yarn 11. The plating yarn 11 is therefore not knit into the fabric, but floats across it. This is shown in Fig. 7, which illustrates, diagrammatically, the structure of the fabric produced by positioning two special or striping needles between two series of regular needles. Looking toward the outside face of the fabric, the body yarn 10 is largely concealed by the plating yarn 11, except along the wales wherein the loops are formed wholly by the body yarn 10. In that part of the fabric, the more conspicuous yarn is the body yarn. Obviously, if these two yarns are of different color, or are otherwise differentiated, the

' effect produced is that of a stripe.

I will now proceed to describe the novel elements of my invention: namely, the needles, the stitch cam and the cam on the pattern disc for controlling the positions of the stitch cam.

. As usual, there are provided two banks of needles, one-half of which (which I shall call the front bank) are adapted toknit the front half of the leg and the top of the foot, and the other half of which which I shall (all the rear bank) are adapted to knit the rear half of the leg, the heel, the bottom of the foot, and the toe. The regular needles of the front bank are lettered m; the special needles of the front bank are lettered n; the regular needles of the rear bank are lettered 0;and the special needles of the rear bank'are lettered p.

All the needles of the front bank are procertain patbefore the main cam vided with long butts r, but each of the special needles n is also provided with a shoul der 8 above its butt. All the needles of the rear bank are provided with short butts t, but each of the special needles is also provided with a shoulder u above its butt. The shoulders .s' of the special front needles 4: are wider than the shoulders uof the. special rear needles p.

The stitch cam .(Z is widened, at forward corner, to provide a part '0 over hanging the inner side of the cam.- This overhanging part has a cam face aligning with the regular cam face of the cam and is in effect a supplemental cam. See Figs. l-4 and Fig. 6.

In knitting striped hosiery, it is custommy to knit a short length of plain, or unstriped welt w (see Fig. 6). To knit this welt, the stitch cam is moved radially out until supplemental cam 11 entirely clears the shoulders s and u of the special needles of both banks, but so that cam cl engages both the long and short butts of all the needles, as shown inposition ll of Fig. 6. In this position of the stitch cam, all the needles will be. operated at the same point in thecirqumference of the needle cylinder; and the downward movement-of the special needles, as well as of the regular needles, will be delayed until they are in a position to engage both yarns 10 and 11.

'ln knitting the stocking leg :20, it is usually desirable to form stripes both on the front and the rear of the stocking, for w ich its upper Hill reason the special needles, above described,

are provided in both front and rear banks. Preparatory to knitting the leg, between the welt and the ankle, the stitch cam is moved radially to its extreme inward position, as shown in Fig. 2, and in position H in Fig. 6. In this position of the stitch cam, the supplemental cam o is in line of travel of the shoulders (s and u) of all the special needles. (front and back). These shoulders will be engaged by the supplemental cam 12 a? is engaged by the butts 0f the regular needles, as shown in Fig. 1. Hence, all the'special needles wil-l'move down at a point in the circumference of the needle bed in advance of the point at which the regular needles are moved down and hence will engage only the body yarn 10 and miss the plating yarn 11, as hereinhefore described and as will be clear by an inspection of Fig. 1. Therefore, longitudinal stripes will be formed on the frontand back of the stocking. I

Preparatory to knitting the heel, it is de- 'sirable to knit a short length of circular fabric'y, from the rear of whichthe. striping effect is omitted. To effect this, the stitch cam is moved radially outward just sufiicienb ly to cause the-supplemental cam v to clear the narrow shoulders at of the special needles lilll i more clearly at position UT of Fig. 6.

79 of the rear bank, but not sutiiciently to clear the wider shoulders sof the special needles n of the front bank, as shown in Fig. 3, and

I wonsequently, only the special needles 'n of the front bank will be engaged bythe cam c and only these needles will be given a premature downward movement as they move opposite the yarn carrier, and hence stripes will be formed on the front of the stocking and not on the rear.

in order to-knit the heel 2, the front bank of needles is moved up out of action in the usual Way. Actuating mechanism for so moving the needles or and o out of action is not herein shown, and forms no part of my invention,.but is well knownin the art. The inoperative position to which the needles m and n are moved is shown at position IV of Fig. 6. The radial position of the stitch cam remains unchanged and as the supplemental cam 'v is not in position to engage the shoulders to of the special needles 7), no stripes will be formed in the heel.

Tn knitting the body 3 of the foot the front needles m and n are restored to operative position, the radial position of the Stitch cam remains unchanged, and the fabric is knit with stripes on the top of the foot but not in the sole. In other words, the same fabric is knit at y as at y. See position V of Fig. 6.

In knitting the toe z, the front bank of needles is moved up out of action, as in knitting the heel 2. The position of the stitch cam remains unchanged, and a plain fabric is formed in the toe as in the heel.

As hereinbefore described, the radial position of the stitch cam is controlled by a camway carried by the pattern disc 5 and shown developed in Fig. 8. When the high part 20 of this cam underrides the post h, the stitch cam is moved radially to its extreme outward position, thereby clearing the butts of all the needles and permitting them to be levelled. As the pattern disc cam advances, part 21 underrides post it, allowing spring f to move .the stitch cam into position I of Fig. 6. After the welt is knit, part .22 of the pattern disc cam underrides post i and allows it to drop to its lowest position, permitting spring f to move the switch cam into its extreme inward position, as shown at position H of Fig. 6. After'the leg is knit, part 23 of the pattern disc cam underrides post it and lifts it so as to efi'ect a slight outward movement of the stitch. cam, as shown at positions UK, IV, V and VI of Fig. 6. This part 23 of the pattern disc cam underrides the post h during; the knitting of the remainder of the stocking. The part 24 of the pattern disc cam then draws the stitch cam to the same position that it occupied while under control of part 2., so as to provide for the knitting of a few courses of plain circular knitting. Part 25 of the pattern disc cam then draws the stitch ,sie

cam to the same position it occupied while under control of part. 2t), that is, into position -to clear the butts of all the needles and allow the needles to be levelled.

From the foregoing description. it will be evident that my special needles can be manufactured as ehea ly as my regular needles. I havedone away with extra butts, or special jacks, and with the additional mechanism for operating the same, and have avoided the necessity of lengthening the needle cylinder to accommodate these jacks or extra butts. lit should be noted that my invention involves the use of no additional mechanism whatever. A stitch cam, pattern means and intermediate actuating mechanism are necessary parts of'the regular mechanism of a machine equipped only to etl'ect plain lilltting. lt retain this actuating mechanism uu' changed and modify the construction of the stitch cam and the pattern means, but without adding any parts. i am thus able to convert a machine adapted for plain knitting into a machine adapted to knit a striped stocking of any design with the stripes in any desired part of the stocking, without: really adding any mechanism. This not only saves expense and avoids the liability to get ting out of order which is incidental to the introduction of additional complications into a machine which is already sutliciently complicated, but ll find that the machine can be operated as rapidly as machines adapted. for plain knitting. which is an advantage that is believed to be novel and is certainly important.

It should be understood that my invention is not limited to any special arrangement of the described regular and special long-butt and short-butt needles, nor to such. an arrangement of the needles as will produce the striping efiects described. As an example of one of many possible modifications, a stocking can be made of a single yarn'and the stripe maybe an open-work stripe produced by floating the yarn across the fabric for a width of one or more wales. Such afabric would be illustrated in a drawing like Fig. 7 except for'the omission of the body yarn 10. This would involve a simplification of my invention, and would be within its broader, but not its more specific, scope.

A very useful adaptation of the invention is to double sole knitting. In knitting an extra thread in the sole, great difiiculty is experienced in producing an even splicing line. By means of my invention, the extra thread may be caused with certainty to engage the same needle at each rotation of the machine, thereby producing an even splicing line.

Still other useful adaptations of the same broad invention may be made. For example, it is often desirable to move certain and:

shouldered needles before such needles reach the regular set ol. cams, so that all such needles will be depressed and be carried under all the cams and therefore fail to engage the yarn,

An adaptation of the invention to accomplish this purpose is shown in Fig. 5). In l ig. 9, 40 is the regular set of cams, of which 41 is the stitch cam, which may be identical with stitch cam (Z 0 or may be a stitch am of usual construction. 42 is a special cam movable (say vertically in guides in a frame 4.3) into and out of operative position to engage the needle shoulders. 1n the'tull line position shown, the cam 42 is so positioned as to miss the butts of all the needles, so that the needles unprovided with shoulders move toward the regular cams at the normal level; but, in such position of the cam l2, it engages all the shoulders ol all needles 51 that are provided with shoulders and depresses them so that they move toward the regular cams at a level below normal. or at. such a level that they will be engaged by the end cam M and be carried below all the cams and not engage the yarn; i Vhen it is desired to render the cam 42 inoperative it is moved into the position shown in dotted lines.

Having now tully described my invention, what l claim and desire to protect by lLet-' ters Patent is:

1. In a circular knitting machine, the combination or yarn feeding mechanism needles provided with butts and some of which are provided with shoulders substantially shorter than the butts, certain of said shoulders being shorter 'han other shoulders a stitch cam adapted to engage needle butts to ett'ect the depression of the needles,

the stitch cam having an overhanging portion forming a supplemental cam adapted engage the shoulders of shouldered needles to eii ect their depression at a point sufliciently in advance of the point of depression of other needles to cause shouldered needles to escape knitting engagement with the yarn. said stitch. cam being movable into one position to or use its supplemental cam to engage the shoulders of all. the shouldered needles and into another position to cause supplemental cam to engage only the wider shoulders and into still another position to cause its supplemental cam to escape engagement with all the shoulders and patcombination defined in claim 1 in which the yarn .feeding mechanism comprises also means to so differentially position a second yarn that it will be engaged by prematurely depressed needles as well as by the remaining needles, thereby causing all the needles to knit one yarn into the fabric while a selected portion of the needles fails to knit the other yarn into the fabric.

3. lln a circular knitting machine, the combination defined in claim 1 in which the needles are arranged in two arcuate groups in one of which are included all the needles having wider shoulders and in the other of which are included all the needles having narrower shoulders, the needles of the first group having longer butts than the needles of the second group and being movable out of action to allow the knitting to proceed only on needles of the second group.

a. In a circular knitting machine, the combination of yarn feeding mechanism,

regular needles provided with butts spe-- cial needles provided with butts and with shoulders substantially shorter than the butts. a stitch cam adapted to engage needle butts to effect the depression of the needles, the stitch eain having an overhan ing portion forming a supplemental cain'adapted to engage the shoulders of special needles to etlect their depression a point sutficiently in advance of the point of depression of the regular needles to cause the special needles to escape knitting engagement with the yarn said stitch cam being movable into positions into and out of the path of travel of said shoulders, thereby etlecting the knitting engagen'ient, in one position of the cam, of only the regular needles with the yarn, and. in another position of the cam, of all said needles with the yarn, and pattern mechanism controlling the position the stitch cam.

5 ln a circular knitting machine, the combination of yarn feeding mechanism, regular needles provided with butts. special needles provided with butts and also with shoulders substantially shorter than the butts. a stitch cam adapted to engage needle butts to effect depression of the needles" a supplemental cam adapted to engage the shoulders of special needles to ellect their depression at point sulliciently in advance of the point of de 'iression oi the regular needes to cause the special needles to escape knitting engagement with the yarm said su 'nileinental cam being movable out of and into the path of travel of said shoulders, whereby all the needles or only the regular needles will knit the yarn into the fabric, and pattern mechanism controlling the position of the suppleii'nental lltll) 6. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with regular needles and special needles, of a radially movable stitch cam adapted to depress all the needles, and cooperating means carried respectively by the stitch cam and the special needles adapted, when the stitch cam is in one radial position, to efiect the depression of both regular and special needles while at the same time effecting the depression of the special needles at a point in advance of the point of depression of the regular needles, and pattern mechanism controlling the movement of the stitch cam into and out of the last named position.

7. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with needles provided with butts and some of which are provided with shoulders above the butts, of a stitch cam adapted to engage said butts and depress the needles and provided with an overhanging portion in the path of travel of said shoulders and adapted to engage said shoulders at a point in advance of the engagement with the butts, thereby effecting the depression of the shouldered needles at a point in advance of the point of depression of the remaining needles.

8.1m a circular knitting machine, the

combination with rotatable needles provided with butts and with shoulders above the butts, of'a stitch cam having a downwardly inclined face, the upper part of the stitch cam being wider than the lower part,'the overhanging upper partof the cam face being in the path of travel of the needle shoulders and adapted to engage them and lower the needles until the shoulders ride below said overhang. the butts thereafter engaging the face of the cam below said overhang and completing their movement of depression.

9. Circular knitting machine mechanism in accordance with claim 8, in combination with means to move said cam into position to bring the overhanging upper part of the cam face out of the path of travel of the needle shoulders, thereby delaying the movement of depression of the needles until their butts engage said cam.

10. The construction defined in claim 8, in combination with other unshoulderedone point in the circumference of the needle cylinder and only one of them will be engaged by needles movable downward at an advance point in the circumference of the ed with respectively different cam-engaging elements, of stitch cam mechanism movable into one position to effect the simultaneous downward movement of needles of both sets and into another position to effect the downward movement of needles of one set at a point in advance of the point of downward movement of needles of the other set, and.

yarn feeding mechanism adapted to so differentially position two threads that both of them will be engaged by the needles of both sets when the cam mechanism is moved into the first position and only one of them will. be engaged by the needles of both sets when the cam mechanism is in the second position.

13. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with needles each provided with two cam-engaging elements, of a cam adapted, dependent on its position, to either engage one only of said elements or engage both elements successively, and means to shiftthe cam into either of said specified positions.

14. In a circular knitting machine, the

combination defined in claim 8 in which the cam is movable substantially radially with respect to the needles.

' 15. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with rotatable needles provided with butts and with shoulders above the butts, of a stitch cam one part of which has a downwardly inclined face and the other part of which has a downwardly inclined face constituting a continuation of the first named downwardly inclined face, a limited portion of the width of the first named downwardly inclined face being in the path of travel of the needle shoulders and adapted to engage them and'lower the needles until the shoulders ride below it, the butts thereafter engaging the second named downward- 1y inclined face and completing their movement of depression.

16. The construction defined in claim 15 in combination with other unshouldered needles provided with butts that-engage the stitch cam at a point in the circle of needles bev yond the point of engagement with the stitch cam of the shouldersof the shouldered needles.

17. In a circular knitting machine, the combination with a slotted needle cylinder, of needles each having a butt and a shoulder above the butt. the butts extending a substantially greater distance than the shoulders heyond the slots of the needle cylinder, and cam members adaptedio cooperate the lower needles by acting successively upon their butts and also adapted to lower needles by acting one upon their shoulders and the other upon their butts.

18. lln a circular knitting machine, the combination with a, slotted needle cylinder,

' of needles each having a butt and a shoulder above the butt, the butts extending a substantially greater distance than the shoulders heyond the slots of the needle cylinder, and cams one of which is adapted to lower needles by acting upon their shoulders and another of which is adapted to lower needles by acting upon only their butts.

in testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on this 25th day of November, 1924.

HAROLD 1E. HOUSEMAN. 

